GETTYSBURG - During the monumental battle fought here 150 years ago, Powers Hill played a key role as a signal station and artillery position guarding the main route to Washington.Over time the fields turned to forest and few visitors made the short trek up the boulder-filled hill at the southeastern corner of Gettysburg National Military Park for the view.Because there wasn't one.Before last year you could not see the battlefield for the trees. Today, after trees have been clear-cut, a nonhistoric house demolished, and a small parcel of land purchased, a visitor can stand beside the boulders, look out across the Baltimore Pike clear over to Culp's Hill and understand exactly what was at stake."Seeing the landscape as soldiers saw it is paramount to understanding the battle," said Garry Adelman, director of history and education at the nonprofit group Civil War Trust and a licensed battlefield guide for 20 years....

(Culpeper, Va.) – The Civil War Trust, the nation’s largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization, has partnered with Culpeper, Va.-based businesses and local preservationists to complete the installation of an interpretive center at the Kelly’s Ford Battlefield. Signage, fencing, trails and other amenities are among the additions comprising the interpretive center, dedicated on the battle’s 150th anniversary.“Completing the protection and interpretation of this site would have been impossible without the help of the landowners, local businesses and our members,” Trust president Jim Lighthizer said. “Future generations now have the chance to experience America’s history first hand by visiting this site.”In November 2012, the Trust secured an easement on a 964-acre farm owned by the Woodward family, among the largest transactions in the organization’s 25-year history, with the intention of not only preserving, but interpreting the site. The landowners, Scott and Sam Woodward, agreed to donate time and labor to build, maintain and manage the center. Local businesses, historians and preservationists also donated time, energy and resources to complete the project, including Cedar Mountain Stone, Culpeper Wood Preservers, Kipps Nursery, CFC Farm Center and the Trust....

FRANKLIN — The land where the bloodiest day in Franklin’s history occurred will one day be a new Columbia Avenue park one day — and no one will owe any money after its purchase.A ceremony on Wednesday marked the sale of the Columbia Avenue Domino’s Pizza restaurant and a small retail strip center next door to the Civil War Trust. The property is at 1225 Columbia Ave.After years of work, the trust and local supporters raised a total of $2.2 million in pledges, donations and grants to purchase the 1.5 acres of land, which will be used in what will be a seven acre park....